Release P630 million to Globe Asiatique, Pag-IBIG asked

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March 7, 2026 | 12:00am

MABALACAT CITY, Philippines — The Home Development Mutual Fund or Pag-IBIG has been asked to release P630 million in escrow funds to property developer Globe Asiatique Realty Holdings Corp. after a court dismissed an estafa case filed against officials of the company.

Delfin Lee, vice president and chief executive officer of Globe Asiatique, said the amount is not a loan, but a fund for housing units developed by the company.

“This is not a debt, this is my money,” Lee said, referring to the funds withheld during the controversy involving allegedly anomalous housing loans tied to Globe Asiatique.

The dispute stemmed from allegations that the company tapped “ghost borrowers” for its Xevera Housing project, one of the largest socialized housing developments in Pampanga.

Lee said his company financed the construction of the housing units using its own funds, while Pag-IBIG provided loans directly to qualified members who purchased the units.

“I never borrowed from Pag-IBIG. The fund lent money to its members who bought the houses and we guaranteed those loans,” Lee said.

He said the P630-million escrow fund represents payments related to housing units already developed and turned over to buyers.

Despite the issue, Lee expressed willingness to cooperate again with Pag-IBIG in future projects.

He said his company had undertaken housing projects in several provinces including Laguna, Mindoro and Rizal before the launch of the Xevera project.

Lee said that Globe Asiatique intends to focus on socialized housing projects to address the country’s housing backlog.

He welcomed recent policy adjustments made under Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development Secretary Jose Ramon Aliling, particularly the move to raise the price ceiling for socialized housing units to around P850,000 or P950,000.

Lee said the policy could encourage more property developers to invest in the housing sector.